With three legitimate pennant contenders going into next season (as of now), the American League West is one of the strongest divisions in the majors, even with the bottom-feeding Houston Astros joining the party next season.

The Oakland A’s, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels figure to be strong clubs in 2013, but the Seattle Mariners are in danger of being buried beneath them unless they make a dramatic improvement or three.

Ownership knows that, and general manager Jack Zduriencik surely knows it as his job is on the line with his contract set to expire after next season. This is Jack Z’s fifth offseason in charge (he took over in October 2008), and it’s almost a sure thing that he’ll have more money to play with than the nearly $82 million the payroll was set at to start 2012.

Estimates of just how much more money have ranged from $25 million on the high end to about $16 million on the low end. Either way, that is a luxury Zduriencik has not been afforded since his first season, when the payroll was nearly $99 million.

Zduriencik’s hiring was seen as a strong play by the Mariners because he helped build a strong farm system and ultimately a competitive team as special assistant to the GM and director of amateur scouting with the Milwaukee Brewers. But so far the Mariners haven’t produced records to back that up. The team has not made the playoffs in any season since he took over as GM, and the M’s have finished last in the four-team division in each of the last three seasons.

That means Zduriencik has to make a splash this offseason. Whether it is getting involved with outfielder Josh Hamilton or courting someone like righthander Zack Greinke, a forceful move is almost a must at this point.

“It would have to be for a player who fits what we’re trying to do here,” Zduriencik told the Seattle Times on Sunday. “But if we find a player who is a fit, then, yes, I hope that we would be able to get something done.”

The Mariners have $49 million committed in major league contracts for next season with another $19 million or so through arbitration and major league minimums.

With some promising arms coming up through the system in the next few seasons, the Mariners might opt to spend on a bat or two this winter since they’ve had the league’s worst offense for three years running now. They’ve already taken a step to improve their power output by moving in their fences, and options such as Hamilton, B.J. Upton, Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera are out there with the outfield being one of the team’s areas of need.

If the Mariners go in another direction, or just want more, they could look at someone like Mike Napoli, who could fill roles at first base if Justin Smoak struggles again, catcher and DH.

Beyond those options, the Mariners have some strong prospects they could package to land a big bat in a trade.

“Whatever ends up happening, we're going to explore all options,” Zduriencik said. “We have some things we’d like to get done, but in some cases, it takes two teams to make that happen. So, we’ll see where it leads us.”

Zduriencik knows the division has stepped over the Mariners, and in order to gain ground next season the Mariners need to make a dramatic move, and possibly be the Miami Marlins of this offseason, not in terms of results but when it comes to aggressiveness in the free-agent market or trades.

Zduriencik is aware of this, and he already started to clear room for 2013 when he traded Ichiro Suzuki and Brandon League during the season. Both were set to be free agents coming off the books anyway, but both would have put pressure on the Mariners to re-sign them.

This winter will be the most important for the franchise in the last four years, and money won’t be a hindrance this time around.